muln

daily knowledge: for the first few decades of television's existence, most stations would sign off and stop broadcasting throughout the night. they would usually broadcast a sign off message, which would often be a patriotic song, before cutting the signal and leaving your tv on static. this is what made the launch of CNN in the year 1980 a game changer for the television landscape. since not only would it be a nationwide network dedicated solely to newscasts, but as the network's founder, ted turner, said at CNN's launch, "barring satelite problems, we won't be signing off until the world ends"

"we'll be on, and we will cover it live, and that will be our last last event. we'll play the national anthem only one time, on the first of june, 1980, and when the world ends, we'll play 'nearer my god to thee' before we sign off."

ever since the late 1980s, it was rumored that CNN had a video prepared for this very moment, but said rumors were never confirmed until 2015, when a former intern leaked a recording they took of it in 2009